The Tennessee House of Representatives voted 70-24 on Monday to pass HB 1605, a bill prohibiting the displaying of certain flags on or in a public school, including LGBTQ pride flags.
The bill, introduced by State Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) in November, now heads to the Senate.
The flags permitted to be flown in and on public schools grounds under the bill include:
- The United States of America flag;
- The official Tennessee State flag;
- A flag that contains a memorial and cannot be distributed or altered;
- The POW/MIA (Prisoner of War/Missing in Action) flag;
- A flag that represents a Native American tribe;
- A flag that represents a city, county, metropolitan government, or other political subdivisions of the State of Tennessee;
- Flags that represent a unit, branch, or other divisions of the armed forces, including Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC);
- A flag that represents a country or a political subdivision;
- A college or university flag;
- A temporary flag displayed as part of a bona fide course curriculum; and
- An official school flag or the flag of an organization authorized to use a public-school building when the organization is using the building.
The bill also grants parents or guardians of students who are enrolled in and attends or of children who are eligible to enroll in and attend public schools legal standing to file a civil action against the school in a chancery court to enforce the bill.
While lawmakers debated the bill on Monday, Democrat State Representative Torrey Harris (D-Memphis) inquired about the “negative impact” the bill would possibly have on children in regards to LGBTQ pride flags not being permitted to be displayed in schools.
Bulso disagreed that the bill would have a negative impact on children, saying the purpose of the bill is to “preserve tolerance” for parents and students who attend public schools.
“When you look at the issue that’s before the body this evening, it is simply this: Do parents have the right to instill values in their own children that they agree with? I think everyone can answer that question – yes,” Bulso said.
“If you have parents across the state that want to instill in their children values represented by the pride flag, they are certainly entitled to do that. On the other hand, if you have parents who want to instill values in their children that are not consistent with the values represented by the pride flag, they have the ability to do that, which is what is great about our country,” Bulso added. “We have a diversity of opinion, we have a diversity of beliefs. Everyone is entitled to mutual respect, everyone is entitled to mutual dignity, and everyone is entitled to tolerance. What this bill does is it preserves tolerance across the board for all parents and all school children.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
